The Beer Retard - Brouwer's Salute To Big Time's 20th

Walking into Brouwer's last night was almost like being at the Big Time six months ago. Almost no seats available at the bar and there's Nat, sporting his trademark tie and pacing back and forth drawing pints for the thirsty. Nachos, baked potatoes and pizza are coming out of the kitchen. It was as if Brouwer's had become the Big Time. If they'd brought in a shuffleboard table, the metamorphosis would've been complete.

The reason for this tranformation was Brouwer's paying tribute to Big Time's 20 years of brewing. All of Big Time's regular beers (Prime Time Pale, Atlas Amber, Coal Creek Porter, Scarlet Fire IPA, Bhagwan's Best IPA) were on tap along with limited stuff like the Hop de Mensonge Belgian IPA, 666 Belgian Strong Dark Ale and Yulefest Christmas Ale. Getting there early proved to be a good call, as bottles of Old Wooly were brought out and poured into snifters at around 6:30.

On the food side, Brouwer's kitchen staff put their spin on items from the Big Time menu. All the familiar offerings were there: pizza, sandwiches, nachos, baked potatoes and chili. I had a cup of the veggie chili and tried some of the nachos and both were extremely tasty. Not to knock the quality of Big Time's food, but if they made stuff this good I would look eat there often, not just when I was into my third beer and desperately needing something to soak up the alcohol.

Between all the events held at Big Time last week and this celebration at Brouwer's, the community did a great job recognizing the 20th anniversary of one of Seattle's best breweries. Hopefully, they have at least another 20 good years ahead of them...